The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has already released a total of P413,950,000 out of its P2 billion budget for the construction of typhoon-resilient evacuation centers around the country.
PAGCOR launched the Multi-Purpose Evacuation Centers (MPECs) project in November 2020.
The released amount represents the first tranche of funding for identified project beneficiaries, most of which are localities that are in the direct path of typhoons.
The latest to receive MPEC funding from PAGCOR were the municipalities of Catarman in Northern Samar and San Andres in Quezon Province. Catarman received an initial P25 million to commence the construction of an MPEC in the town.
Meanwhile, San Andres initially received P13,950,000 to commence the construction of its third PAGCOR-funded MPEC in Barangay Poblacion, amounting to P27.9 million.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo and President and COO Alfredo Lim officially turned over the grants to Catarman Municipal Mayor Francisco Rosales, Jr. and San Andres Municipal Administrator Ferdinand Lacbayo at the agency’s Executive Office in Manila on March 16, 2021.
Apart from Catarman and San Andres, PAGCOR has also released the first tranche of funding for the MPECs in Tapaz, Capiz; Romblon; Zamboanga del Sur; Tagudin, Ilocos Sur; Tadian, Mountain Province; Legazpi City and Ligao in Albay; Ocampo, Tigaon, San Jose and Sagnay in Camarines Sur; and San Fernando and Floridablanca in Pampanga. #P
